Paying it Forward After Flood

DANVILLE-- Many organizations in our area are raising money and collecting items to help victims of the hurricanes that battered Florida and Texas. For Danville Area Middle School, the damage from flooding hits close to home.

"There was eight feet of flood water in the auditorium including my office. I had nothing," Rebecca Pritchard said.

When Danville Area Middle School flooded in 2011, classrooms moved to other parts of the school district. Teachers got donations from everywhere.

"We got donations from primary teachers, high school teachers in this district, other districts, other states," Kim Jordan said.

Because of that kindness, teachers at Danville Area Middle School now want to pay it forward. They "adopted" a school in Texas that was flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Teachers and students at CE King Middle School in Houston are living through what Danville did six years ago.

"It's a school just like ours, grades 6, 7, 8, just like us. They flooded the exact same way," Samantha Simatos said.

Danville is selling t-shirts to raise money for CE King Middle School. There will also be a community night with hayrides, games, and movies at the end of October.

"We really feel that it's our part to help them out because so many people were so kind to us," Joy Smith said.

The students are excited to raise money to help kids just like them.

"It feels good. I think it's time for us to kind of pay it forward," Gavin Crumb said.

"Rewarding in a way because you know that you have had help from other people, so you're giving help to somebody else," Jillian Hough said.

Students at Danville Area Middle School have a fundraising goal. In 2013, they raised nearly $7,000 for WNEP's Ryan's run 4. They hope to raise even more money for Houston.